Minister Attacks Unions’ Anti-Industrial Relations Reform Ad

Minister Attacks Unions’ Anti-Industrial Relations Reform Ad
B&T Magazine
By B&T Magazine



Attorney General and Industrial Relations Minister Christian Porter has criticized a union advert that depicts Scott Morrison as a bus driver speeding towards workers.

The ad by the ETU (Electrical Trades Union) and the construction division of the CFMMEU (Construction Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union) is a response to the Government’s proposed Industrial Relations Omnibus Bill.

In the ad, the bus represents the Bill, which unions say will have damaging consequences for workers. One of their critiques is its potential to disadvantage workers in favor of employers, particularly with regard to casual work.

Porter told 2GB Radio on Monday morning that, “all the claims that [the ad] makes are just wrong, like lies”. He also described it as a “low point in Australian politics” and said that it was “insensitive to the families of people” who had been in road accidents.

The Morrison government’s clear industrial relations position is significant in what could potentially be an election year.

In a statement, the ETU and CFMMEU said that “Australian workers have borne the brunt of the COVID pandemic. Now Scott Morrison is using this crisis as an excuse to leave workers worse off with his IR Omnibus legislation”.

The ACTU (Australian Council of Trade Unions) also announced their own ‘For the Workers’ campaign on Monday. The campaign also takes aim at the overhaul of the industrial relations, which it believes will damage wages, jobs and the economy.

‘For the Workers’ harkens back to ‘Your Right To Work’, the unions’ successful 2007 campaign against the Howard government.

 




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